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No catch for the day: Pakistan's tuna trade caught in US-Iran crossfire

In Iranian waters, a strange trade is taking place — Pakistani fishermen exchange subsidised Iranian fuel for high-value tuna, a barter system now under threat from escalating United States-Iran tensions. Shah Zamin Khan is among thousands of Pakistani tuna traders whose lucrative business has been at a near standstill since February, when the war between the US, Israel and Iran began. The recent targeting of Iranian seaports by Washington has made matters worse. Iran's southern ports of Konarak, Pasabandar and Beris, which border Pakistan's southwestern Balochistan province and serve as key fish trade hubs, are among the sites targeted by US airstrikes in recent weeks. "Our businesses were already affected by the war but the recent targeting of Iranian seaports have turned the region into a no-go area for us over the past one month," Khan told Anadolu. Boat owners, according to Khan, have completely stopped sending their vessels to the Iranian ports fo...

Explosion at Alawite mosque in Syria’s Homs kills five

Five people were killed in an explosion at a mosque belonging to the Alawite minority sect in the Syrian city of Homs on Friday, Syrian state news agency SANA said. SANA cited Syrian Health Ministry official Najib al-Naasan as saying 21 others were wounded and that the figures were preliminary, indicating they could rise. Homs city’s press office said an explosive device had detonated inside the Imam Ali bin Abi Talib mosque and that security forces had cordoned off the area. Local official Issam Naameh told Reuters the blast took place during Friday noon prayers, typically the busiest time for mosques. Read More: Turkey detains 115 alleged IS members Syrian state media published footage showing rescuers and security forces examining debris splayed across the mosque’s green carpet. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack. Syria has been rocked by several episodes of sectarian violence since longtime leader Bashar al-Assad, an Alawite, was ousted by a rebel offensive last year and replaced by a government led by members of the Sunni Muslim majority. Earlier this month, two American soldiers and a civilian interpreter were killed in central Syria by an attacker described by authorities as a suspected member of Islamic State, a violent Sunni Muslim group.

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